Turbo Life Span? 01 GMC.

[HD=HossDiesel]

Just got the truck back from a friend who had it for a month. He complained that it was eating him out of house and home. Mileage was terrible. My first drive in it when I got it back it has absolutely no low end power. If you hold it to the floor it will pour it on at the top end of second gear and run like it should. But from 0-40 mph it has no pull.

My first thought was fuel filter. Changed Oil, Tranny fluid, Fuel Filter. No difference what so ever. My next thought is turbo. I dont know what the life span of these things is but I dont really think 94k on an 01 is alot at all. The only time I even moderately worked this truck was pulling my boat. Maybe 6k at best. Not really a work out either. In July of 05 I had it to dealer because it was "making oil". Dealer told me I didnt know what I was talking about. Told them about injector seals. They scanned it charge me 80 bux and told me there was nothing wrong. (yeah even I know the injector seal failure isnt going to show on ECM) They did offer to do the next two oil changes for the 80 they charged me, so they could monitor the oil. Long story short its all in my head according to them.

So in September 06 at a traffic signal truck starts Idling terrible. Check engine light comes on. My buddy in the back seat says "does your oil pressure always run that low?". Long story short injectors flooded crankcase to the point of pushing oil out the breather tube. Looked like a 007 truck with oil slick activated. Different dealer confirmed my suspicion. Replaced all 8 injectors. Question is what kind of damage would this do the engine. (No one at GM wants to tell me anything). Could this be related to what I think would be premature turbo failure? It set a code today when I tried to accelerate hard. I am having it checked tomorrow and I will go from there. I just wanted to see if anyone had any opinion on the problem and wether it could be related to the earlier issues.

I have owned this truck since new. Always changed oil every 3-5k. Im happy with it when it runs but its cost me alot of $ in repairs which should have been covered. Now Im lookin at a grand for a reman turbo. Thats If I can figure out how to change it myself. Not good.

[Duramaster]

I can tell you that I have replaced lot's of injectors with the crankcase full of oil and I have never seen any kind of engine or turbo failure because it. I would ask you what code has set, but it sounds like you don't have a scanner? Turbo failure on a stock LB7 is VERY uncommon. It sounds like you are describing a condition of a plugged fuel filter or even a restricted air filter. Keep us posted. :)

[HD=HossDiesel]

Oh yes I have reached new hieghts of stupidity....LOL. Yeah a 12 dollar air filter and all is well. I guess thats better than 1200. Im pretty good with the oil and I change the tranny religiously at 25k. I just tend to forget that stupid air filter. We scanned it and it came up Mass Airflow sensor. My buddy goes hey did you look at the guage for the filter. "IT Says 100% blocked" Well like I said a new filter and a few miles to get it back in the swing and I am happy agian. Thanx for the advice. It definitely paid off. Just goes to show I shouldnt get all worked up over worst case scenarios when a simple fix is all it took.

[speeddrive1]

Since you were gonna spend 1200 bucks on a turbo and now you dont have to, I think you should spend them bucks on something for your self. All you have to do is tell the wife you had to get a new turbo. She wont know the diff.

[Duramaster]

You're welcome! :D

[rob from bc canada]

I think I'd go you one better:

I'd tell the wife I figured out an ingenious way to avoid having to buy a new turbo, take her out for a fancy Dinner in a town at least 200 miles from home, after driving there in your newly high performance truck, of course, and maybe let her drive on the way back.

After this you will be so well treated at home, you will also save the cost of having to go out and look for a mistress, along with all the grief that goes with that :D

[jbplock]

... 12 dollar air filter and all is well...

http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/tdpforum/images/icons/icon14.gif Glad to hear the problem is solved and $12 is a deal for a Duramax air filter ..what is the brand?

Just a note of caution .. the gasser filters will fit the Duramax air box but they don't have the reinforcement bars that prevent them from being sucked into the intake ..

Here's a snip from TSB 05-00-90-001 ...

"The Duramax(R) air filter, P/N 25332443, is specific to the diesel engine due to the operating characteristics of a turbo charged diesel engine. The turbo allows for a much greater air volume rate than a normal aspirated engine. The Duramax(R) diesel air filter is reinforced to eliminate damage from the increased airflow of the turbo. The reinforcement is visually identified by the five ribs of epoxy that lies across the pleats of the clean side of the filter. If the correct air filter is not used, the filter may collapse or be torn in a Duramax(R) application. This damage will allow dust and dirt to be ingested into the turbo and engine causing serious damage. This damage is usually identified at the turbo vanes as well as extreme wear in the cylinder walls of the engine. There is evidence of gasoline engine air filters being used in the Duaramax(R) application. The 8.1 gas air filter, P/N 25313349, will fit into the air box of the Duramax(R) diesel; however, it does not have the required reinforcement of the diesel air filter. The 8.1 liter gas engine air filter should never be used in a Duramax(R) diesel engine."

:)

[Duramaster]

You got that right! I see that in the shop all the time.. I try to sell the customer the correct filter everytime or at least provide them with the bulletin. ;)

[HD=HossDiesel]

Yeah the filter is a fram. Got it at auto zone. It has the expanded metal mesh backing on it to keep it from collapse. I don't have to worry about anyone spending my money but me. I'm not married and currently single. The nice thing about cats is they don't question you about where you've been or how much you've had to drink. LOL. Anyhow the truck still isn't quite right. It set another code today. It runs alot better than it did but something is still missing. It might be just the ECM getting re aquianted with free flowing air. LOL. I'm having tires put on it before it snows today so we're gonna rescan it when I get it back and see if we see anything different. I will let you know if anything pops up. Thanks agian with the tips for how to spend the $ and of course the cheap way to fix a broken truck. Ha ha. I still cant believe I did that!

[Duramaster]

Both the 8.1 and the 6.6 filters have the wire mesh backing, but the DMAX also uses 5 strips of adhesive on the filter face to help prevent the filter from collapsing.

[Mark Rinker]

:( We have had cheap filters (without glue strips) collapse and suck holes through in the winter. This filter only had about 5K miles on it, but the last trip out was saturated with salty road grime on a horrible February day.

Make sure to replace your air filter after you travel in sloppy, salty road conditions!!!



http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/fuel_and_filters_023.JPGhttp://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/fuel_and_filters_025.JPG


http://www.thedieselpageforums.com/photopost/data/500/fuel_and_filters_024.JPG

[Hook_'em_Horns!]

Look into the K & N washable and make it (cleaning) a part of your service routine. Better airflow, better performance, better mileage, better protection for the price of 3 junk pfram throw-aways.